42-1 (42) is a helluva mark. Anyone else think he was robbed versus Cooper? Is Adam going to do a book on him? How many rounds would Marciano last against him?
I remember reading about that fella before the Cooper fight. He really fancied his chances. Talk about a reality check! Maybe they just threw him in with old Bert too early. If he was going now I'm sure with a good promoter he could of got a ranking and maybe a title shot. He could been a contender but no one was looking out for him.
I remember an article in "Boxing Weekly" a good number of years ago, where Savage had gone to the States to take part in a tough-man completion, or something on those lines, and while he was at ringside watching Tony Tubbs and Bonecrusher Smith engage in a spirited sparring session, he suddenly remembered an old knee injury that had suddenly flared up on him. He packed his bag, and home he came. So the article said, anyway.
It was the 1993 "People's Champion" tournament, that Tubbs eventually won, down in Mississippi or somewhere like that. Yes, Tubbs and Smith were sparring ahead of the tournament and Joe Savage, who claimed to be "bareknuckle champion of England", was watching. I heard Smith actually said to him "Look Joe, this is what we do for a living. It's none of that street cr*p." Savage left town.
I remember your last line being told him too. ^^^^^^ I have never met him, but by all accounts he's a friendly and quietly spoken man outside of fighting. He owns/used to own a s c rap metal business not a million miles from me in Walsall in the West Midlands.
I remember him appearing on a Midlands regional current affairs type program which used to be hosted by Nicky Campbell on a Friday night. He came across as quite jovial and intelligent.